Elisabeth, Star, Joy, and Meredith at the Christmas party, before all the wedding freebies wrecked their friendship. Credit: Bernadette Piccolomini
“Rosie O’Donnell is a great talent,” Barbara said. “She also has, shall we say, emotional problems.” Credit: © American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
The View from the elevator: the cohosts rode together each morning from their dressing rooms on the second floor to the studio on the third floor. Credit: Bernadette Piccolomini
Michelle Obama fist bumps Elisabeth as a guest cohost on June 18, 2008, before her husband accepted the Democratic nomination. Credit: © American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Barack Obama became the first sitting president to grant an interview to a daytime talk show on July 29, 2010. Credit: © American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Cramming during a commercial. Credit: Bernadette Piccolomini
Whoopi sits in Joy’s lap during a Hot Topics meeting. Credit: Bernadette Piccolomini
Barbara with her beloved hairdresser, Bryant. Credit: Bryant Renfroe
Director Mark Gentile in the control room. Credit: Bernadette Piccolomini
On May 15, 2014, the 11 View cohosts gathered for Barbara’s retirement. From left: Whoopi, Meredith, Star, Debbie, Joy, Barbara, Lisa, Elisabeth, Rosie, Jenny, and Sherri. Credit: © American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
Senator John McCain at The View for his daughter Meghan’s birthday on October 23, 2017. Credit: © American Broadcasting Companies, Inc.
In April 2014, I wrote this Variety cover story on Barbara about her legacy and fifty-year career on TV. Credit: Variety
A Note on Sources
The first one out was the first one in. One spring afternoon, I drove to The Insider in Los Angeles, where Debbie Matenopoulos invited me to her dressing room after a taping. She was eager to share all her memories about working on The View. It all happened so quickly, I thought maybe I could line up everybody else in the next few months. But I came to learn that nothing associated with The View is easy. The research for this book took three years and involved more than 150 interviews with producers, agents, network executives, and guests.
But none of that mattered if I couldn’t hear directly from the stars of the show. Ultimately, I conducted lengthy conversations with eleven of the cohosts, with periodic follow-ups over the phone or email. Barbara Walters, who gave me her blessing, met me for an iced tea near her home shortly after I’d sold this book. She connected me to her trusted executive producer, Bill Geddie. Eventually, he and I spent many hours over several months talking near his home on the West Coast. He was always gracious in helping me tell his story. And this is the first time he’s told many of these anecdotes to a reporter.
If someone passed on participating, I’d just do what Barbara would do, which is never accept no for an answer. And so I’d wait a few months and try again. Over time, I was able to schedule one-on-one interviews with Meredith Vieira, Star Jones, Rosie O’Donnell, Sherri Shepherd, and Jenny McCarthy, in either New York or Los Angeles. I visited Joy Behar and Meghan McCain at The View, where I’d spent so much time backstage that I sometimes felt like Michael Wolff at the White House. Nicolle Wallace welcomed me to 30 Rockefeller Center, where we chatted before she taped her afternoon program on MSNBC. Lisa Ling agreed to a phone conversation. The two cohosts who never sat down with me—even though I’d interviewed them both before—were Whoopi Goldberg and Elisabeth Hasselbeck.
This book is primarily based on new interviews. Since I’ve been covering The View for more than ten years, I relied on some of my unpublished manuscripts for quotes that couldn’t be re-created due to time passing. In 2014, I wrote a cover story for Variety on Barbara prior to her retirement, spending multiple days with her in different settings. I also wrote a cover story on Rosie the second time she joined The View, and I profiled Whoopi for Newsweek in 2011.
It was important for me to tell the full story of the show. And I understood that not everyone could talk for attribution. This is The View, after all.
Acknowledgments
Barbara Walters knew what she was doing when she coined the phrase “Hot Topics.” Of all the articles that I’ve written as a journalist, The View is the one subject that always draws the most readers. When it comes to online traffic, stories about Barbara’s TV show often outperform those about Marvel’s The Avengers or Fifty Shades of Grey. Forget Jamie Dornan. What the internet really wants to know is what’s going on behind closed doors at The View.
I have a theory about why so many people—even those who don’t regularly tune in—can’t stop themselves from reading about The View. The show touches on a cross-section of important themes: political polarization, red states vs. blue states, feminism, the challenges women face in Hollywood and beyond, and, of course, Donald Trump. When I first pitched this book, my thesis was that The View defined a turning point in American society, before the election of the first female president. That hasn’t happened (yet). But for the last twenty years, The View has elevated opinionated heroines who believe the future is female, foreshadowing our current climate.
Bill Geddie once told me that he suggested to a prominent journalist who was covering David Letterman that he should write a book about The View. I’m glad that the other writer didn’t take Geddie up on the offer. And I’m indebted to all the producers who worked tirelessly on the show for the last two decades. Many of them invited me into their homes or agreed to lengthy phone conversations to talk about what it was like to be on such a groundbreaking program.
I’d like to thank my brilliant friend Kate Aurthur, for navigating me through my first book. I might never have been ready if it weren’t for her genuine enthusiasm for this project. Kate read and edited every page from its early draft stages, providing invaluable suggestions and questions. When I’d gain her approval—with notes like “LITERAL LOL”—I knew that I was on the right track and had to keep going.
I started as an editor at the age of twenty-one at Newsweek, when newsmagazines were still a force in journalism. Thank you to Marcus Mabry, Mark Whitaker, and Kathy Deveny, for hiring me and turning me into the reporter I became. And to Marc Peyser, who, as culture editor, made me rewrite every story at least five times; he has unquestionably good taste. For proof: he assigned me several stories about The View, which led me to this book.
Meghan McCain championed this idea, declaring it a bestseller, even before she became a cohost on the show. Melissa Durliat has been a loyal friend, who always pushes me to be better—usually with a glass of rosé in her hand.
At Variety, I’m grateful for my boss, Claudia Eller, who never wavers in supporting great journalism. The same goes for Jay Penske. I’m lucky to work with so many talented colleagues, including Michelle Sobrino, Gerry Byrne, Owen Gleiberman, John Ross, Lauren Utecht, Mary Corbet, Brent Lang, Stuart Oldham, Elizabeth Wagmeister, Sylvia Tan, Dea Lawrence, Donna Pennestri, Daniel D’Addario, Caroline Framke, Brian Steinberg, Robert Festino, Michael Ausiello, Meredith Woerner, Rebecca Rubin, Nicholas Stango, and Dayna Wolpa.
More than twenty publishing houses passed on this project, because they weren’t interested in a book about “women in media” (whatever that means!). At St. Martin’s Press, I’m beholden to Emily Angell, for believing in this manuscript. The penetrating Stephen S. Power inherited this book, without having ever seen The View, and he devoured every chapter. I couldn’t have asked for a wiser or more energetic editor. Also, thank you to Sally Richardson, Jennifer Enderlin, Thomas Dunne, Laura Clark, Tracey Guest, Kathryn Hough Boutross, and Samantha Zukergood. My agent, David Kuhn, helped inspire the structure of this book and found it a good home.
At the start of this process, Brian Stelter took me out to lunch and gave me some incredibly helpful advice. Susan Szeliga, my old friend from the Newsweek library, was invaluable at finding old newspaper and magazine clips. Cindi Berger at PMK/BNC is a vault of information related to The View. At ABC, Julie Townsend and Lauri Hogan were crucial in helping with a
rchival research and overseeing interview requests. At Warner Bros., Chris Circosta assisted with impossible-to-find episodes of The Rosie O’Donnell Show.
I’ve wanted to be a writer all of my life. I learned how to do that through my teachers, starting in high school with Demetra Chamberlain, Kathy Brandes, Karen Kyer, Pam Rakis, and Deborah Ledford, who encouraged me at fourteen to write, write, write, even though she taught math. At Stanford, I learned from ZZ Packer, Elizabeth Tallent, and Tobias Wolff in the creative writing department.
Thank you to my boyfriend, Christophe Hollocou, for reading early pages, acting as my secret brainstorming partner, and never getting tired of me asking him to watch old clips of The View.
And finally, thank you to my parents, for your love and kindness, and for teaching me your strength and determination. As immigrants from Iran, they grew up with a rich tradition of storytelling. My mom would take my sister, Sheila, and me to the library every few days, so that we couldn’t live without books. And my dad would tape-record my shaky voice working its way through A Little House on the Prairie, because he knew I’d learn how to read faster if I could hear myself doing it. I love you all more than I can say.
Index
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your e-book. Please use the search function on your e-reading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
A
abortion debate
abuse
Access Hollywood
advertising
age limits
Aiken, Clay
Ailes, Roger
All My Children
Allen, Woody
Andrew, Prince of Wales
Anthony, Crystal McCrary
Arledge, Roone
auditions for cohosts
after departure of Debbie Matenopoulos
after departure of Joy Behar
after departure of Lisa Ling
after departure of Rosie O’Donnell
after departure of Rosie Perez
after departures of Nicolle Wallace and Rosie Perez
after departures of Sherri Shepherd and Jenny McCarthy
first
autism
B
Bad Habits: Confessions of a Recovering Catholic (McCarthy)
Balthazar, Brian
bankruptcy
Barbara Walters Building
Barbara’s Mailbag segments
Barber, Janette
Barnes, Katreese
Barone, Randy
Barwell Productions
Behar, Joy
abortion debate incident and
Andrew Smith and
Clinton-Trump election race and
departure of
Donald Trump and
earliest episodes and
George Bush and
interviewing for cohost position
John McCain and
Meredith Viera and
as permanent cast member
reality TV and
return of as host
Rosie O’Donnell and
Star Jones and
belly button piercing
Berger, Cindi
Berman, Donald
Biden, Joe
Bila, Jedediah
bisexuality
brainwashing
Branaugh, Kenneth
breakdowns
bridezilla
Brien, Lindsay
Brinkley, David
Bush, George W.
Air National Guard Service of
Elisabeth Hasselbeck and
Joy Behar and
Rosie O’Donnell and
Whoopi Goldberg and
Butler, Rene
C
Cameron Bure, Candace
Campos-Duffy, Rachel
interviewing after departure of Debbie Matenopoulos
interviewing after departure of Lisa Ling
Star Jones and
Cantone, Mario
Carey, Mariah
Caryl & Marilyn
CBS Evening News
The Celebrity Apprentice
Celebrity Deathmatch (MTV)
Celebrity Detox (O’Donnell)
celibacy
Chen, Julie
The Chew
chicken pox
Cibrowski, Tom
Clark, Dick
Clinton, Bill
Clinton, Chelsea
Clinton, Hillary
Barbara Walters’ final show and
Donald Trump and
Elisabeth Hasselbeck and
Lewinsky scandal and
loss of election by
as regular on The View
The Rosie O’Donnell Show and
Star Jones and
What Happened book tour and
Cohen, Alexandra
Colbert, Stephen
Collins, Michelle
Columbine High School massacre
Comey, James
comic roasts
Conner, Tara
Cooper, Anderson
copycats
Cordes, Jill
Cosby, Bill
cosmetic surgery
Couric, Katie
Cox, Laverne
creationism
Cupp, S. E.
Curry, Ann
D
Daniels, Stormy
Darden, Christopher
Daytime Emmy Awards
DeGeneres, Ellen
departures
of Barbara Walters
of Ben Sherwood
of Bill Geddie
of Brian Frons
of Candace Cameron Bure
of Debbie Matenopoulos
of Elisabeth Hasselbeck
of Jedediah Bila
of Jenny McCarthy
of Joy Behar
of Lisa Ling
of Mark Gentile
of Meredith Viera
of Michelle Collins
of Nicolle Wallace
of Raven Symoné
of Rosie O’Donnell
of Rosie Perez
of Sara Haines
of Sherri Shepherd
of Star Jones
depression
Destiny’s Child
diabetes
Diana, Princess of Wales
directors. See also Gentile, Mark
dogfighting
Donahue, Phil
doublespeak
Douglas, Michael
Dummer, Vicki
Dunaway, Faye
Dwyer, Joseph
E
earpieces
Eichner, Billy
Eisner, Michael
Elliott, Josh
engagements
Entertainment Tonight
erectile dysfunction
Etheridge, Melissa
Everybody’s a Critic
evolution
exercise
exits. See Departures
F
Faris, Paula
Farrow, Dylan
Farrow, Mia
Fedida, Barbara
The Feminine Mystique (Friedan)
Fey, Tina
Filarski, Elisabeth. See Hasselbeck, Elisabeth
Fili-Krushel, Patricia
firings. See Departures
focus groups
Fox News
freebies
Friedan, Betty
Frons, Brian
Barbara Walters and
departure of
Meredith Viera and
Rosie O’Donnell and
Whoopi Goldberg and
G
gastrectomy, vertical sleeve
gastric bypass surgery
gay issues. See Homosexuality
Andrew Smith and
beginning of The View and
departure of
Donald Tr
ump and
Elisabeth Hasselbeck and
interviewing for cohost positions and
Jenny McCarthy and
Meredith Viera and
relationship with Barbara Walters
Rosie O’Donnell and
Sherri Shepherd and
Star Jones and
in studio audience
on weight loss
Gentile, Mark
on chemistry in beginning
departure of
hiring of
Rosie O’Donnell and
studio and
ghrelin
Gifford, Kathie Lee
Gilbert, Sara
Girl Talk
Gold, Judy
Goldberg, Whoopi
after second departure of Rosie O’Donnell
Barack Obama and
Barbara Walters and
Donald Trump and
as guest co-host
hiring of
Jenny McCarthy and
personal history of
reunion show and
Rosie O’Donnell and
Sherri Shepherd and
Goldston, James
Gonzalez, October
Good Morning America
Goodman, Dana
Gore, Al
Graham, Virginia
Grease
grievances
Griffin, Kathy
Guber, Jackie
Guillen, Stephanie
Guiney, Bob
gun control
H
Hackner, Lisa
Barbara Walters and
Ben Sherwood and
Elisabeth Hasselbeck and
Mark Gentile and
Rosie O’Donnell, Whoopi Goldberg and
Haines, Sara
haircuts
Handler, Chelsea
Harden, Marcia Gay
Hasselbeck, Elisabeth
addition of to The View
Barack Obama and
departure of
disagreement with Barbara Walters and
Donald Trump and
John McCain and
loss of viewers after departure of
Michelle Obama and
reunion show and
Rosie O’Donnell and
Hasselbeck, Tim